Solutions to our Transportation Problems

How to work with what we have and make it better

Posted: 28-Aug-2007; Updated: 30-Oct-2008

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Andy Darrell, Director of Living Cities, talks about what transportation in this country can and should look like in the next few decades.

As Director of Living Cities and New York Regional Director, Andy Darrell has been working on transportation and pollution issues since he started with us in 2001. 

Finding smart solutions to congestion and pollution have been top on his priority list and he's been at the forefront of groundbreaking success - most notably in New York City where he was recently appointed to serve on a commission to study traffic cutting measures.

We were lucky enough have Andy sat down with us to answer some questions we and others had about how to best approach the transportation problems in our country and how to fix them.

1) In cities such as London and Singapore, new, efficient transportation systems have been put in place and are working well. What is your ideal vision of what transportation in this country should like in the next 25 - 50 years?

In the 1950s, the United States engaged in a major overhaul of our transportation network, building highways, airports and other infrastructure giving the country an extraordinary degree of mobility and connectivity.  Today, much of that infrastructure is getting old, and its unintended environmental costs are high.  Transportation is the fastest-growing source of greenhouse gases in the country, more than half the population lives in places with air that fails to meet basic EPA standards, and every year we waste more and more time and fuel stuck in gridlock.

It's time for another overhaul, but aimed at new goals: health, a stable climate and, of course, even better mobility and connectivity.  The basic tools to accomplish this next wave of change are emerging today. One basic step is to align economic incentives with climate and health goals.  Cities like London and Stockholm are using congestion pricing to cut traffic in densely populated areas and fund the next generation of transit, like fast, flexible express bus lanes.  In the US, some forms of congestion pricing are emerging as practical alternatives in cities from New York to San Francisco, and along highway corridors in fast-growing metropolitan areas like San Diego and even Washington, DC.  Ideas like pay-as-you-drive insurance will lower consumer costs and give incentive to drive less.  In Germany and England, road tolls are beginning to be aligned with the level of pollution generated by a vehicle, and among consumers everywhere technologies like hybrids are becoming popular.  Soon, every NYC taxi cab will be a hybrid. 

If our transportation agencies -- and, increasingly, the private companies being asked to build and operate infrastructure around the world -- can be held accountable to climate and health goals, innovations like these will become more commonplace.  The next big potential turning point in federal policy is coming up in about 2009, when the federal transportation bill is up for reauthorization.  In the meantime, policy must encourage innovation at the community and state levels.

2) How do we get there using existing infrastructure?

One key is to use existing infrastructure much more efficiently.  By using congestion pricing and dedicating highway lanes to bus rapid transit, a given highway can move more people more quickly with less environmental impact.  But our country is growing, and we'll always be building something new. The key is to build new communities in ways that decrease dependence on the traditional car and increase opportunities for walking, cycling and innovations like car-sharing, advanced vehicle technologies and new ideas for transit.  In the Central Valley of California, for example, a new incentive framework gives developers a choice -- to either "build green" up front, in ways that cut emissions from transportation, or pay a clean air fee that is then invested directly into the community. Steps like these increase health, cut energy use and decrease the pressure on existing infrastructure.

Communities are also starting to realize that big urban infrastructure doesn’t have to be an eyesore that harms the environment. The recent community benefit agreements signed at LAX and Staples Center exemplify how communities can become engaged with and help turn around major investment projects. 

3) Many people think a transportation overhaul is prohibitively expensive. What are some incentives for cities to implement efficient transportation programs?

It's the current system that is absurdly expensive. The health costs of dirty air and decreasing physical activity are extraordinary. Our  cities are plagued with asthma and nationwide the epidemic of obesity is increasingly capturing the concern of medical experts.  Building more and more roads to soak up congestion simply doesn't work. Without pricing and transit-oriented development, new roads just fill up as car-dependent development increases around them. We are not in the 1950s anymore; it's time to build infrastructure for a more crowded, more technologically savvy and growing country.

Just recently the federal government awarded $850 million in incentive funds to communities ready to experiment with congestion pricing and related incentives. That's a useful step and we need more like it.  But the real incentive lies in basic economics and common sense:  by encouraging less waste in the use of roads and energy, communities save money on infrastructure investments, get more out of existing infrastructure, and can avoid infrastructure-related cash crunches. The federal transportation funding mechanism is going bankrupt. It will be out of funds in about 2009 and even at top funding levels, it does not come close to meeting the needs of cities nationwide. In some cases, private investment is waiting in the wings to fill the gap. But no matter who finances it, the key question is whether infrastructure will be built with health and climate in mind.

4) New York City recently took dramatic steps towards improving its transportation system by pioneering a plan, plaNYC. You worked closely with the city and a coalition of groups on this plan. What were the biggest obstacles in gaining majority support for this plan? Is NYC leading the way for other cities to implement efficient transportation solutions of their own?

New York's PlaNYC is an extraordinary vision for delivering the cleanest air of any big city in America and slashing greenhouse gas emissions by 30% by 2030, at a time when the city's population is expected to grow by a million people.  Economic performance and environmental leadership: that's the right recipe for the future and one that deserves emulation.  The plan for NYC is ground-breaking for several reasons.  First, it sets aggressive goals and then unites action across sectors -- transport, energy, open space, etc. -- to achieve those goals. Second, it goes far beyond broad goals to identify over 100 specific city, state and private sector action items to be moved forward in the next two years. Some are large, like congestion pricing, energy reform and new zoning rules, and some are more modest, like planting trees and incentives for green roofs. All are important to achieving the goals. Lastly, it relies on the best of existing technology, not pie in the sky changes. It is ambitious, but practical.

Congestion pricing is one of the more controversial and important elements of the plan. For the first time, a US city is proposing to use congestion pricing to cut traffic into its business center and finance the next generation of transit. What is extraordinary now is that just a few months after congestion pricing was proposed, over 140 civic and community organizations from across the five boroughs have stepped forward in strong support, joined by the editorial pages of all major newspapers, political leaders from every borough and major business organizations. As in London and Stockholm, where congestion pricing was controversial when proposed, support is growing as more and more people learn how well it can work. By taking this step now, New York will set a new bar for how to use economic incentives to deliver faster commutes and cleaner air.

5) For all of our readers who live in places where transportation is in need of improvement, what are ways they can involve themselves in bringing better transportation to their cities?

There are lots of ways to get involved. If you're in the NY metropolitan region, check out our web site for the latest on congestion pricing and how to take action. In communities large and small, the percentage of people active on these kinds of issues is usually pretty small, so you can make a big difference by getting involved. Get in touch with your local town planners to find out what's going on. Speak out at hearings and talk about lining up transportation investment with clean air and climate goals. Also, talk with your employer about commuter choice benefits -- tax incentives that help your employer cover part of the cost of a transit pass for you.  And most importantly, try a few steps of your own. Take a walk.  Ride a bike. Check out the transit choices in your area.  When you drive, be efficient about it:  drive the most fuel efficient car that fits your needs; combine trips or carpool. All of these things also have the side benefit of leaving a few extra dollars in your wallet and the air a little cleaner.

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